Hannah Drury is making her mark as a franchisee

Death is a constant companion to franchisees in the care sector. By its very nature, caring for the elderly and people suffering from chronic conditions means that they will face the cold reality of mortality sooner or later. However, it was a loss in her family that set Hannah Drury upon the path to becoming the award-winning operations director of Caremark Sutton, the homecare franchise.

When her mother and stepfather, Debbie and Simon Binner, originally launched the business in 2013, Drury had no intention of joining them. “I honestly thought that it would be boring,” she says. However, that changed when her stepfather was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. The illness slowly deprived Binner of the control of his body as the nerves to his muscles shut down, leaving him unable to lead the company. Looking for a way to ensure the franchise survived, he asked his stepdaughter to take over.

Drury said yes without hesitation. And it wasn’t long after joining the business in February 2015 that she quickly reevaluated her initial impression of it. “It was the complete opposite of boring,” she says. “There’s never a dull moment: there is always stuff going on and you meet a million different people with amazing stories. We do incredible work every day and I’ve learnt so much in such a short time.”

Fortunately Caremark went out of its way to help her prepare for taking on the role of franchisee. “They were supportive in every way,” she says. Not only did the franchisor have monthly meetings with Drury to check her progress but it was also always available on the phone if she had any questions. “They even let me go on the franchising training free of charge because of the circumstances, which was something they wouldn’t normally do,” she says.

Going on this training in April 2015 enabled her to see the business as a whole. “I learned to cover every angle and aspect of the company,” she says. This included learning about the necessary documentation and how to provide care for all potential patients, whether they were old or suffering from chronic conditions. Empowered by the theoretical knowledge, Drury returned to the franchise to get more hands-on experience. “People can tell you how to do things but you truly only understand it when you actually do them,” she says.